Avoiding COVID will be a challenge for most Floridians in the summer months ahead with the highly contagious BA.5 omicron subvariant quickly spreading, even in people vaccinated and previously infected.
BA.5 now comprises 63% of new infections in the state, a big jump from 12% only four weeks ago, illustrating just how fast the subvariant is taking over.
As the summer heat draws Floridians indoors, 11,000 people a day in the state are getting infected, a Department of Health report shows. That number likely is higher with many people self-testing.
BA.5 is the most transmissible strain yet, and scientists are looking into whether it may even spread in environments previously considered “safe,” such as outdoor areas. The strain also is causing more painful symptoms, such as a severe sore throat and a stubborn fever, and some doctors are finding patients reporting loss of smell.
Here are ways to battle the newest COVID wave.
Get a booster or a vaccine
If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, there’s a new option.
The protein-based COVID vaccine developed by Novavax, a small Maryland biotech firm, has gained FDA approval, and if it gets CDC recommendation, it could be available to Floridians 18 and over by the end of July.
Because Novavax is a more traditional vaccine, some holdouts may find it more of an option than the previously available COVID shots, which use mRNA technology. Novavax is given in a two-shot series, separated by three weeks.
No one knows how much protection people will get with Novavax against BA.5. The controlled study conducted in the U.S. and Mexico was done before the current omicron variant was dominant. However, Novavax announced earlier this month that its vaccine shows a “broad” immune response to currently circulating variants, including omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.
Another way to protect yourself is with a booster. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told the news media that it’s still too early to tell whether BA.5 symptoms are more or less severe than other variants, which is why she recommends staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
Being vaccinated and recently boosted have been shown to substantially reduce the risk of ending up in the ICU from COVID and a booster will make your symptoms less severe if you get a breakthrough case. For now, second COVID boosters — formulated to protect against the original COVID strain ? are offered to anyone over 50, but the Biden administration could soon broaden the age eligibility.
Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina notes in her newsletter: “In the U.S., adults aged 50 and older with two booster doses had four times lower risk of dying from COVID-19, compared to people who received one booster dose.”
Manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer are working on an omicron-targeted booster for fall, possibly around October. So, it’s natural to wonder whether you should wait.
If you get a booster now, you need about a four-month interval to get another shot.
Dr. Carla S. McWilliams, an infectious disease specialist at Cleveland Clinic Florida, says it’s reasonable to hold off on a second booster and wait until fall if you just had COVID.
Jetelina sums up the booster dilemma this way: “If you have multiple comorbidities or work at a high exposure occupation, I think it makes sense to get a second booster now. If you’re young, healthy, and/or had a previous infection (hybrid immunity), it makes sense to wait for an omicron booster in the fall.”
Know your treatment options
If you get COVID, treatments can help you from getting severely sick.
Paxlovid, an oral antiviral medication, needs to be taken within five days of symptom onset and can sharply reduce your risk of death or severe disease.
In the past few weeks, Paxlovid has become easier to get. You can get a prescription from your doctor or a pharmacist can now prescribe the drug, too. Paxlovid is intended for people with COVID-19 who are 12 and older and more likely to become seriously ill.
But know that a percentage of people who take the normal five-day course of Paxlovid initially feel better, only to have their symptoms rebound and COVID return. It’s too early to know what drives the rebounds and how common they are.
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and want treatment, you can visit the government’s Test-to-Treat Locator to search for places nearby where you can fill a COVID-19 prescription.
When Delta was circulating, monoclonal antibodies were the go-to treatment. But not all monoclonal antibodies work against BA.5. One that does is Eli Lilly’s intravenous bebtelovimab. You take bebtelovimab within seven days of symptom onset and before your COVID infection is serious enough to require hospitalization.
Test yourself often
Testing lets you know if you have COVID, and gives you an opportunity to prevent spreading it to others. So, test yourself.
Antigen tests, also known as rapid tests, are free by mail or you can get them at a drug store. They are great at detecting highly infectious people, but with omicron, false negatives are common at the beginning of infection. Now, new preliminary evidence suggests false negatives on rapid antigen tests may be higher with BA.5.
Public health experts at UMass Chan Medical School advise testing yourself before you see grandpa, attend an indoor gathering or a visit an at-risk person. If you test negative and have symptoms, assume you have COVID-19 and retest in 24 to 48 hours, they advise. Because there are not a lot of false positives, if you have symptoms and see a bold line on a test swab indicating you have COVID, believe it, they say.
The tricky part is using antigen tests to decide when it’s safe to come out of isolation.
An omicron infection lasts, on average, eight to 10 days.
Some people will be infectious for less, and some for more. A rapid test will help you to know when you no longer have COVID. The CDC guidance says you can leave isolation after five days but if you are still positive, you could still be infectious, so wear a high-quality mask when you are around others for five additional days.
Mask as needed
Government mandates are gone and most people have shed their masks.
As transmission levels get higher in Florida, you may want to wear your mask again in crowded situations. It’s also a good idea to keep indoor spaces as ventilated as possible.
COVID hospitalizations are up nearly 50% in Florida in the last month.
If you are traveling this summer, know that most people are not wearing masks in airports or airplanes, or on buses, trains and subways. You will have to decide your own risk tolerance for getting sick on vacation or upon return.
With community transmission levels high, epidemiologist Jetelina advises: “Americans should wear a mask in crowded, indoor spaces if they don’t want to get sick.”
If you had COVID already this summer, McWilliams at Cleveland Clinic Florida believes you have immunity to fight off another infection for the next few months. “To my knowledge, even with BA.5 there have been no reinfections within 90 days, but the data could change.”
McWilliams adds: “At this stage of the pandemic, there is a degree of good judgment and logic that needs to be factored into our calculations.”
South Florida Sun Sentinel reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com.
